Lecture Notes

LEC # TOPICS LECTURERS STUDENT NOTES
1 Overview of course; time scales; formation of matter by nucleosynthesis; introduction to geological (PDF - 6.1 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
2 How stars and planets form; Earth segregation; formation and composition of early atmosphere; characteristics of the habitable zone (PDF - 4.3 MB) Richard Binzel (PDF)
3 Theories about the origin of life (PDF - 1.4 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
4 Evidence for antiquity of life (PDF - 1.4 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
5

Antiquity and origin of life (cont.)

Subsurface biosphere (PDF - 6.5 MB)

Roger Summons (PDF)
6 Redox chemistry; anaerobic metabolism, energy yields, deep subsurface biosphere (PDF) Roger Summons (PDF)
7 Oxygenic photosynthesis; the rise of atmospheric O2 (PDF - 6.8 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
8 Techniques in geobiology 1: Fractionated isotopes (PDF) Roger Summons (PDF)
9 Techniques in geobiology 2: More about fractionated isotopes (PDF) Roger Summons (PDF)
10 Biogeochemical carbon cycle (PDF - 1.7 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
11 Long-term climate cycles 1: Faint young sun paradox; CO2 climate connection; snowball earth (PDF - 1.9 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
12 Evolution and radiation of animals (and plants???) Charles Marshall (PDF)
13 Mass extinctions and re-radiation 1; PC-C boundary, P-T boundary (PDF - 2.5 MB) Roger Summons (PDF)
14

Mass extinctions and re-radiation 2; K-T boundary, LPTM

Volcanism, carbon cycle perturbation or impact? (PDF - 6.2 MB)

Roger Summons (PDF)
15

Techniques in geobiology 3

Genomics

DNA, sequencing, trees, environmental shotguns

Roger Summons (PDF)
16

Techniques in geobiology 4

Lipid biomarkers; life's three domains; fossil and biogeochemical evidence for their presence and evolution through geological time

Roger Summons (PDF)
17 Sedimentary records of life and environment; fossils and their preservation Roger Summons (PDF)
18 Sedimentary records of microbes and their environmental preferences; marine crenarchaeota and tex 86; AOM; anammox D'Arcy Meyer-Dombard (PDF)
19 Microbially-dominated ecosystems: Extreme environments D'Arcy Meyer-Dombard (PDF)
20

Fossil fuels: Fate of buried organic carbon; petroleum and natural gas occurrence and distribution (PDF - 3.7 MB)

Methane hydrates

Roger Summons (PDF)
21 Climate change: Mesozoic warming, cenozoic cooling; pleistocene glaciations (PDF - 5.5 MB) Ed Boyle (PDF)
22 Holocene climate; abrupt climate change; anthropogenic forcing (PDF - 4.7 MB) Ed Boyle (PDF)
23-24 Student presentations